| Egyptian Fayoumi  Poultry had been kept in ancient Egypt, notably geese as shown and discovered depicted in paintings in the tomb of Princess Itet of the 3rd dynasty. The detail that was given in depictions including has enabled experts to identify two species of Anser and Branta, resembling a duck, along with Five other species of duck were also bred, notably the pintail. A fifth native kind, the wild Egyptian Goose, was never farmed. The Egyptians became know for "Goose Fattening". Taming and keeping of domesticated livestock was a common practice. The domestic hen was introduced to Egypt only later, after the first Persian conquest according to some, others suggest not before Ptolemaic times. There are text-indicating reports of Tuthmosis III's Syrian expedition speaking of a bird that" laid each day; and crowed at dawn." Thus referring to the hen. Isolated finds of egg-shells, and what looks like a cock drawn on a New Kingdom ostracon from the Valley of the Kings suggest that the domestic chicken may have been bred even then. The Egyptians were well aware of the principles of artificial incubation, using Dunghills, which produced the required heat to incubate eggs. Later to build giant housing units for artificial incubation dotting the landscape and becoming, even seen today while becoming quite skilled at the process. There were even specialized poultry farms with their own offices, storage-sheds and rooms for the staff to keep a constant monitoring of the heat. Egyptian poultry scuffled about for food in courtyards or feeding-pens; their birds were never cooped. The Fayoumis are considered an Ancient breed originating from the Egyptian City of Fayoum, ‘Fayoum’ meaning water, located south of Cairo, and acknowledged as the earliest agricultural region in the world. They have been raised along the Nile River since early B.C times existing as a free-range scavenger. They were mainly bred for egg production. They're aggressive, extremely active and very adaptable. These traits have served them well in surviving harsh conditions found in Egypt. An exceptional quality for the Fayoumis is they are a very fast maturing fowl. Pullets may start in production as early as 4 months of age, a small tinted (off-white) egg and, the cockerels will often be crowing by six weeks of age. They are what we might consider a lean fowl, with silvery white hackle and white bars on black background throughout the body plumage. Leg color can be either willow green or slate blue. Baby chicks are highly colored in brown, black, and white markings on the back and a brownish purple head color. The large Fayoumi is native to Egypt but the bantam was originated in the United States. It has a Mediterranean body type and Bantam Standard recognizes four varieties Black Tailed Buff, Black Tailed White, Golden and Silver. The Golden and Silver varieties resemble the Golden Penciled and Silver Penciled Hamburgs. Introduced into the United Kingdom in 1984 by the Domestic Fowl Trust. They are not recognized by the American Poultry Association. Three of the most interesting facts concerning this breed and what has drawn a lot of attention is they have been found to be more resistant to viral diseases and may also be resistant to salmonella, feed consumption is moderately low for such a high energy fowl and rate of maturity. The Fayoumi chicken of Egypt has recently been re-discovered and has been exported to twelve different countries. In the 1940s, ISU’s Dean of Agriculture, R.E. Buchanan carried Fayoumi chicken eggs home from Egypt for the poultry genetics program. The plan was to cross the Egyptian birds, with American breeds to produce hardier chickens, disease resistant genes and cut cost of feed, with the end goal to strengthen the commercial industry. Scientists in the U.S.A are currently mapping the genes of this indigenous chicken to find useful characteristics for commercial poultry production. Current studies in Ethiopia were conducted with the Fayoumis and indigenous fowl found locally comparing the group’s hatchability and consumption rate. Focusing on the small farmers success providing him with a faster rate of return. The problem is that the aggressive, high-energy behavior that helps Fayoumis survive harsh environments in Egypt hinders the birds' adaptation to commercial production settings. One of the biggest factors has been housing this free-scavenging fowl. With today’s knowledge, scientists are trying to develop genetic markers to help poultry breeders accelerate the introduction of disease-resistant genes that can be introduced into the breeding of commercial chickens. If you have anymore information pertaining to this breed please feel free to post on our Breed Discussions 
Background Provided Free Chicken Chronicles 2003 
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